The phosphorylation of pocket proteins but also of various transcription factors as well as the non-catalytic activity of cyclin D1 by its ability to link a large panel of transcription factors, nuclear receptors, regulators of histone acetylation, and Rock pathway members with DNA damage response proteins, could affect HCC and explain the heterogeneity associated with cyclin D1 expression. Here, CCND1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.